BTOP Grant for New Mexico

Commerce Secretary Locke, Sens Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Tom Udall (D-NM), and former New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya announced a $11.2 million Recovery Act investment to help bridge the technological divide, boost economic growth, create jobs, and improve education and healthcare in eastern New Mexico and west Texas.

The grant will bring high-speed Internet access to more than 200 community anchor institutions -- including schools, public safety organizations, healthcare facilities, and government agencies -- and lay the groundwork for bringing affordable broadband service to thousands of homes and businesses in the region. The investment will allow the ENMR Telephone Cooperative, Inc., which does business as ENMR-Plateau, to enhance broadband Internet capabilities in eastern New Mexico and west Texas by providing a more than 1,600-mile ring of fiber. Among other benefits, the project plans to expand distance learning opportunities for students at schools and libraries in rural areas and enable connectivity to a telehealth network being constructed across New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.